Stoke City’s abysmal start to this season has seen Mark Hughes’ job come under threat already. Some of the pressure is down to the poor finish to last season, too, but Hughes is already at breaking point for his Potters future. The worst thing the former Manchester City boss could have dreamt of was a trip to Old Trafford to face a Manchester United side that wiped the floor with the champions last weekend.
Having been within minutes of a confidence boosting home victory against West Brom last weekend, Stoke have at least improved their performances since the thrashing at the hands of Crystal Palace. Any bookmaker will give you ambitious odds if you want to back the Potters this weekend, but it is not necessarily going to be the one-way encounter that might seem obvious from their respective records this season.
Jose Mourinho has shown his stubbornness already this season, and after such success last weekend, the former Chelsea manager will be reluctant to change his team for the visit of a side with only two Premier League points so far.
The midfield of Paul Pogba and Ander Herrera worked very well last week, despite the lack of a natural sitting player. Stoke have moved towards a 4-3-3 and should continue along that road. Joe Allen, Geoff Cameron and Giannelli Imbula make up their most complete, strongest midfield. If they are to have any success at Old Trafford and provide Wilfried Bony with significant chances, they need to dominate the midfield and cut the supply lines to Juan Mata and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Pogba must be pressured in possession, perhaps setting Joe Allen to man-mark him could be the best option for Hughes.
Once they have dealt with the defensive side of their midfield, the Potters should look to expose Herrera in an unfamiliar role. Imbula must play, he must be given the freedom to run beyond the Manchester United midfielders.
Spreading the play will equally be key for Hughes’ side and isolating Marko Arnautovic and Xherdan Shaqiri against United’s full-backs as often as possible will give them the best chance of getting behind the Red Devils’ back line. Shaqiri returned to the side last weekend and his influence was evident, how the Manchester United left-back deals with the stocky Swiss international will be a determining factor in Stoke’s final third success.
Arnautovic, who will be on the opposite flank from Shaqiri, needs to return to his excellent form of last season if Stoke are to lurch themselves out of their current rut. Up against Antonio Valencia, the Austrian will be unable to dominate physically. Instead, he must vary the angles of his runs to be a viable passing option down the inside-left channel.
Hughes will not have envisaged fighting for his job only a few games into the season. Although a defeat at Old Trafford should not be enough to see him lose his job, a surprise victory would earn some credit with both the fans and board. Good fortune will be needed, but the Potters have all the assets to take advantage of a Manchester United team still short of balance.